Life

Humans of HOKA: Andreas Moraitis

Triathlon helped the 27-year-old shed pounds and discover that "if you keep moving forward, you truly can surprise yourself."

by Don Norcross

In 2009, Andreas Moraitis was sitting in a diner contemplating life. He was 27 years old and working at a Porsche dealership during a time when the economy was stuck in the throes of a recession and few were buying luxury cars.

As if the financial stress he was experiencing wasn't enough, at 5-feet-9, 180 pounds, he felt out of shape.

"It was a bad time," says Moraitis, who was living in West Palm Beach, FL. "I looked in the mirror and said, 'I’ve never been this out of shape. There’s no excuse for that.'"

He was contemplating taking up surfing when all of a sudden, a peloton of cyclists flew past the restaurant.

And from that coincidental sighting of cyclists whizzing past a diner, seeds were planted that sprouted into the development of one of the world's top amateur long-distance triathletes. Moraitis' decision was quick, but his steadfast commitment to the sport of triathlon would be something he’d have for the rest of his life.

Moraitis is 36 years old now. Thousands of hours swimming, cycling and running have transformed his body to a sinewy 146 pounds. His triathlon resume counts 18 IRONMAN 70.3 races and five IRONMAN events.

He has raced at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship twice and in the past four years has been an IRONMAN All World Athlete silver or gold medalist.

"Going from something I couldn't even envision to becoming somebody that people look up to and ask questions for help — that's pretty amazing," says Moraitis.

Christian Doria has been friends with Moraitis since they were 12 years old. While Doria isn't a triathlete, he's not surprised that his friend has achieved phenomenal success in the sport.

"Andreas is one of the most mentally strong people I've ever known," says Doria. "For Andreas, I think triathlon means just proving he can overcome mental challenges. It gives him confidence. It gives him purpose and clarity."

Moraitis' finances were so lean when he decided to give cycling a try, that he bought his first bike on a three-month layaway plan. His initial ride was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

"It was my first road bike and it was painful. I felt like I was going to fall over. I didn't want to get off the sidewalk,” says Moraitis, “It was intimidating. I didn't want to wear the shorts. I didn't want to do any of that stuff."

Gradually, he became more comfortable on two wheels and in 2010, he entered his first short-distance triathlon. Regarding the rush he felt finishing his first swim-bike-run, Moraitis says, "Whatever I was looking for, I found at that finish line."

At the time of that first triathlon, Moraitis was married. After that race, he recalls his wife saying, "Ok, you did it. No more. We’re done.”

"No," Moraitis said to himself. "I think I'm going to stick with this."

And he was right. Triathlon was there to stay. In 2011, he knocked off an Olympic-distance race. Later that year, he climbed to the 70.3 distance, finishing IRONMAN 70.3 Florida in 5:10:01. (His IRONMAN 70.3 PR now is 4:20:57.)

In 2013, Moraitis sampled the IRONMAN® distance, finishing IRONMAN Florida in 10:54:24. His IRONMAN-distance PR is now 10:10:04, which he recorded last year in Louisville.

But, before Moraitis made that investment in his first road bike back in 2009, he had started casually jogging. One day, he experienced a memorable run that boosted his self-confidence.

Up until that point, his longest run had been six miles. Looking for a challenge, he plotted a course with a turnaround point at a particular street that he figured would be around seven miles.

There was one problem: the street for his turnaround didn’t exist. Moraitis kept running and running and running.

He ended up six miles from his starting point and without a cell phone. "I've got to get home," he told himself.

He plugged away, one step at a time. Exhausted, he finally returned home, logged on to Google Maps and did the math. He had jogged 12 miles.

"I was chafed everywhere," says Moraitis, who is now a sales manager for an assisted living community. "My feet felt like lead."

But he had persevered and stepped outside his comfort zone.

"I figured out that if you keep moving forward, you truly can surprise yourself and everyone around you," says Moraitis. "It was a gigantic stepping stone. There was nobody around me. There was no finish line. There’s something about running that is the most primal thing."

Nearly a decade after that run, Moraitis’ best triathlon discipline is the bike. Yet his favorite discipline is the run.

"The run is where you're either prepared or you're not," he says. "You're tough or you're not. To me, the run is where the sport comes alive."